The Central Tri-State Tollway is getting smarter with addition of digital messaging
Beaten down by continual construction on the Central Tri-State Tollway?
There is digital light at the end of the tunnel coming this year as the tollway begins to install a new SmartRoad system.
Similar to the Jane Addams Tollway (I-90) SmartRoad, the Tri-State version will feature overhead gantries with traffic messages and alerts.
That includes digital signs with arrows indicating what lanes are open and a message board with up-to-date information about crashes, road conditions and travel times.
The original Jane Addams Tollway SmartRoad was completed in 2017.
“It really helps with incident management,” tollway Chief Engineer Manar Nashif said.
For example, if there’s a collision or stalled car blocking a lane, “we’re able to open the shoulder, and allow traffic to run through. That reduces the queuing of traffic and the potential for secondary incidents, so it’s a big deal for us,” Nashif noted.
Expanding the system will also be huge for road warriors on the Tri-State. The behemoth carries the most passenger vehicles and trucks of all the tollway corridors, plus has two times the congestion delays.
The tollway is in the midst of a massive rebuild and widening on the Central Tri-State between Balmoral Road in Rosemont and 95th Street near Oak Lawn. The 22-mile project wraps up in 2027.
Construction of the northern segment from Rosemont to St. Charles Road near Elmhurst is expected to finish this year.
Dovetailing with that work is the installation of 14 new SmartRoad gantries in the northern section, which should also wrap up in 2024.
“Additional SmartRoad system installation and testing will be needed after the (14) gantries are installed, and this work will be done in 2025 along with determining the schedule for operations,” tollway spokesman Dan Rozek said.
In total, the revamped Central Tri-State will accommodate 80 SmartRoad digital message displays located at every half-mile.
The technology can be updated with new features as they become available.
There’s also the potential to communicate with connected vehicles farther down the road, Nashif noted.
The project includes adding sensors on the mainline and ramps to measure vehicle flow and updated cameras to better detect crashes and other problems.
“It’ll give us the flexibility to manage traffic out there,” Nashif said.
Got a comment or question? Drop an email to mpyke@dailyherald.com.
You should know
Pace passengers with disabilities who use paratransit vans to travel can now catch a free ride on fixed route buses.
The program, which started this month, is intended to increase transit accessibility. It’s open to people certified as ADA Paratransit riders by the Regional Transportation Authority.
“By removing financial barriers, we aim to expand transportation options for people with disabilities,” Pace Executive Director Melinda Metzger said in a statement.
Pace fixed route buses are equipped with ramps and accessible seating.
Users are advised to show their ADA Paratransit cards to drivers, not to tap them on the Ventra reader. To learn more, go to pacebus.com/accessible-fixed-routes.
Your voice
Reader Holly Staron wants to know why there are no stop signs on Route 25 where it intersects with Army Trail Road in Wayne.
“That is such a dangerous intersection going west on Army Trail trying to make a left turn,” Staron said.
She cited “blind spots in both directions and cars on Route 25 flying around the curve — you can’t see them coming unless you venture out into the road. (At) rush hour, you are taking your life into your hands.”
Route 25 is under the Illinois Department of Transportation’s jurisdiction, spokeswoman Maria Castaneda said.
But “before any change in traffic control may occur, it must first be warranted by a traffic engineering study,” as required by federal and state guidelines. And currently there are no improvements listed in IDOT’s multiyear highway improvement program for that location, Castaneda explained.
“The department continuously monitors the safety and operational performance of its roadways.”